Ame no Naka E
by SleepyDreamGirl
Summary: “Do you…love me?” Naruto blinked. He wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly. Did she just ask him if he loved her? A fluffy NaruHina one-shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Inspiration struck me while I was on cruise. Dedicated to _xiaoshuaiger. _Enjoy. :D

_Ame no Naka E_

_By: SleepyDreamGirl_

The girl trudged slowly under the drizzle. She shivered under the cold rain, holding her jacket tighter to herself. Looking upwards towards the dark clouds, she figured the rain would not be letting up any time soon. The droplets pelted her petite face as she continued staring skywards.

_I hope the clouds will clear soon. The sky always looks prettier with its brilliant blue… _She trailed off in her thoughts as she shook her head softly, shaking away the image of a sapphire-orbed boy.

She headed towards the park benches, settling on one that had a big tree over it for some shelter. As she rubbed her hands together for some warmth, she heard somebody calling her.

"Hinata-chan?"

The said girl looked up to messy blonde hair and gorgeous sapphire orbs.

"Ah…" she began to smile, but soon, her enthusiasm began to fade. After all, _he_ was the one whom she was troubled over with. "Naruto…kun."

He frowned slightly at her lack of spirit as he sat beside her.

"What's wrong?"

Hinata glanced up to him for a moment before looking away. "Nothing's wrong."

"Don't lie through your teeth. You and I both know something's wrong. What do you take me for, some stranger?" Naruto grimaced.

Hinata sighed. She would have loved to pour all her troubles out to him. She would have done just that, if her troubles _weren't _about him. Biting her lips, she was about to reply that there was really nothing wrong when she was hit by a sudden thought.

Why not just spill? Why is she withholding the truth from him? Shouldn't she just tell him what she saw this morning that troubled her so much? He and Sakura, standing so close together, almost as if they were hugging, or worse, kissi-

Hinata blinked and shook her head inwardly as a pang of jealousy shot through her heart.

"It's really nothing. Trust me."

She looked away again, knowing that this was for the best. She was already very satisfied with the current relationship she and Naruto had. A year ago, she couldn't even begin to imagine not stuttering around him and being able to talk to him properly.

The next thing she knew, here she is, a year later, with a newly labeled best friend named Naruto. He knew her secrets and she knew his. Well, he didn't know _all _of her secrets.

And, it was all thanks to Sakura. Even after Naruto got back from his training with Jiraiya, shy Hinata still couldn't talk to him properly. Sakura was the one who _accidentally _locked them in a room together and lost the key during the get together party last year.

Hinata had wanted to faint at first, but upon seeing the rare chance that she and Naruto hardly ever get to be alone, she somehow managed to keep conscious. But not without the obvious red blush tinting her face. She could still remember the event like it happened yesterday.

_Flashback_

Hinata bit her lips and twirled her fingers together. She couldn't calm her racing heart and was sure that if she doesn't stop soon, her heart was going to burst out of her ribcage from beating too hard. She gulped down the lump forming at her throat.

"You okay? You look kind of nervous," Naruto piped up from beside her.

Hinata let out a small 'Eep!' at being talked to, jumping up slightly. It took her all to reply a weak 'Y-yeah, I'm f-fine…'

The whiskered boy ran a hand through his blonde, unruly hair, seemingly troubled.

"You must be scared because Sakura-chan accidentally locked us in, right? Don't worry, she'll be back with the spare key soon."

Hinata did nothing else but to nod slightly, not knowing what else to respond with. She wanted to be near the hyperactive guy, but at the same time, wanted to find a hole to bury deep down and never show her face again due to extreme amount of embarrassment she was currently feeling.

She could easily break the wooden doors to get out, as could Naruto, but seeing as this is Sakura's house, it would be a little rude to destroy her doors when she had a spare key to open the door and would be back soon.

There were no windows as a mean of escape either, seeing as this was the basement. Meaning, Hinata could do nothing but wait till Sakura was back with the spare key. Which she hoped was soon. Too bad Hinata's and Sakura's definition of soon was pretty far apart.

Hinata twiddled her fingers again, looking at the ceilings, the walls, the floor, anywhere else but Naruto. She didn't notice him looking worriedly at her ever since she started playing with her fingers. She didn't notice him beginning to notice all her stutters and blushes around him. She didn't notice him trying to figure out why she was so nervous. Heck, she didn't even notice him talking to her until he shook her shoulders several times.

At which, she immediately sprung up like a jack-in-the-box at the electrifying touch. It took her several seconds to realize that he had been talking to her and had to shake her to get her attention, only to have her jump up in surprise like a mad woman.

Hinata slapped herself inwardly as she apologized profusely. To her surprise though, Naruto waved it off with a chuckle, and motioned for her to sit back down. Albeit confused, she sat down as instructed.

"You didn't hear what I said just now, right?"

The red-faced girl shook her head embarrassedly.

"I was asking…if you were always only this nervous around me."

Hinata's eyes widened almost instantaneously. Her entire body stiffened._ Don't tell me he found out! What should I do now? _She turned slightly, only to be faced with clear, innocent sapphire orbs that were asking her for answers. Uh-oh. Wrong course of action.

She was too sucked into admiring his eyes than to be taken aback by the alarmingly close distance their faces were apart from each other. Clear, blue eyes. Like the never-ending wondrous blue of the sky. At that moment, there was only one option Hinata could take as her next step. She summoned every inch and ounce of her courage, clenching her small fists together.

"I…I…I lo-!" But before she could finish blurting out her confession, she was interrupted by Naruto's sudden outburst.

"I got it! You were scared of me, right? I mean, you're shy and everything. Around a boisterous guy like me, of course you got scared."

Hinata remained stunned as Naruto laughed, satisfied with his answer. She knew Naruto was dense. Incredibly dense, especially when it came to girls. So dense that he didn't know of her obvious crush on him. But…to be dense, to this extent? There has got to be a limit somewhere.

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief anyway, as disappointed as she was.

"So…"

Hinata lifted her head, upon hearing Naruto talking.

"You don't have to be so scared of me, you know? I'm not a monster that's going to eat you up. Don't be so nervous around me," he gave Hinata a strained smile.

Immediately, the Hyuuga heiress felt guilty. She knew what she had done with being so nervous around Naruto. She made Naruto think that she was scared of him, not just because of his boisterous nature. He thought that she was afraid of him as a monster. As the Kyuubi.

Swallowing her onslaught of tears back, Hinata shook her head gently as she turned to face Naruto. He wasn't looking at her though. He was looking down, at his own clenched fists. Feeling guiltier than ever, Hinata shifted closer to him, inch by inch.

Slowly, she reached for his hands, putting hers on top of his. When she received no reaction, she was about to speak up when she thought she saw a glimmer of tear falling from Naruto's face. She blinked as she felt her heart ache. She couldn't stand the thought of her sunshine boy crying.

…wait a minute. Did she just thought, _her _sunshine boy? Oh, screw whatever she was thinking. Her sunshine boy mattered more at the moment.

Before Naruto knew what was happening, he was breathing in a fresh lavender scent. He closed his eyes and savored the overwhelming delicious scent as it wept over him. As he continued to breathe in the intoxicating scent, he felt small, petite hands wrapping itself around his torso.

He felt incredibly relaxed and at peace, as if he was being protected from everything that had harmed him since childhood. All those hurtful insults, all those physical wounds, and all those mental scars…

When he opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was soft, pale hair. It looked so soft…so tempting…almost as if it's begging him to touch it, to feel it…

Unconsciously, Naruto had already reached for it, stroking it gently. His other hand was rested around Hinata's waist protectively. The two of them would have continued hugging each other until god knows when, had Sakura not opened the door at that precise moment.

She gasped in delight as she held her hands to cover her mouth, dropping the spare key which landed with a dull thud on the floor, catching Hinata's attention.

Who, in return, turned beet red as she scrambled away from Naruto. Which dragged him forcefully out of his Lalaland.

"Sakura-san, this isn't-!" Hinata was trying to get the jumbled words out of her mouth before Sakura jumped to any conclusions, but obviously failed to do so as she was interrupted by Sakura.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm glad for you, Hinata-chan," Sakura left the room as quickly as she had entered with a girlish giggle, off to tell the others at the party of the newest happening between the couple they had been trying to set up together.

Naruto, on the other hand, was still dazed. He sat in silence for a moment, with Hinata at the other side of the room, before he spoke up.

"Hinata-chan?"

Hinata, unwilling to speak, fearing her voice might crack and quiver under the intense amount of nervousness she was feeling, turned towards him.

"Thank you."

She gawked. Her mouth was only slightly open, but it was still a gawk. Of all the things he could say, he said thank you? Wasn't he supposed to ask why she suddenly hugged him? Or finally notice her affections for him? And then either reject or accept her feelings, or say I don't know, or something? Why thank you?

Seemingly able to read her mind, Naruto crossed the room and sat beside her again, holding her hand.

"I needed that hug," he chuckled. Then, he did something that she never thought would happen with all her stutters around him. He leaned in and gave her a soft peck on the cheek.

Hinata, whose mind was reeling from the sudden turn of events, was about to faint when she remembered Naruto's words. That she didn't have to be so nervous around him. That he wasn't a monster that was going to eat her up. That's right. If she fainted now, Naruto might think that she must have been scared beyond words at their close proximity, and might stay away from her in the future.

No, she most definitely didn't want that kind of outcome.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"I had always been nervous around you not because I was scared of you. It was…for another reason."

"I'm glad." he flashed a toothy grin.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat at that. It was all too much to bear. First, a hug, a peck on the cheek, and now, a shot of his all too dazzling face? And she could not faint, no matter how much she wanted to.

"I…I had always-" For the third time that day, Hinata was interrupted, yet again.

"You don't have to force yourself to tell me the reason, Hinata-chan. You can tell me whenever you want to. I'm in no rush to find out, as long as you're not scared of me." a soft smile appeared on his features.

Sighing inwardly in defeat, Hinata nodded as Naruto held his hand out.

"Friends?"

"Friends." she latched her hand with his.

_End of Flashback_

After that incident, the two of them had just grown closer and closer together, to the state they were in now. Best of friends. Nothing else but friends who share their secrets with each other. Friends who occasionally walk hand in hand but never with it wrapped around the waist. Friends who peck each other on the cheeks and foreheads but never on the lips.

At the rate things were going, Hinata had already started to assume that they were going to stay as best of friends for all their life due to a certain blonde's denseness.

"I would have trusted you on normal days when you don't look like you're trying your best to suppress something inside you."

Wow. He sure was one perceptive guy. If so, why didn't he already guess that she had been crushing on him for years? Hinata rubbed her temples as she began to consider her current options.

Here he was, asking her what's wrong. She could jolly well spill her feelings in one sitting. If he still didn't get what a straight 'I love you' to his face meant, she could start to ram her head into a random wall nearby for all she cared.

It wasn't like she hadn't tried to confess again after the incident at the get together party. She tried countless times in the past year. She either got interrupted by others, or more often, Naruto himself. She got tired of the same occurrence after a while, deciding to wait for a quiet chance.

And here it was. Hinata beamed slightly. Maybe, she might really get it across this time. Without any unneeded interferences? She did not know, but anything was worth a shot by now. She sucked in her breath, drumming her fingers lightly on her lap. No matter how many times she had tried to confess to Naruto, confessing again had always made her heart pump faster, race harder.

It didn't help matters that the subject of her frustration was still sitting patiently by her side, waiting for her answer with concern glazed over those goddamn gorgeous sapphire orbs.

Opening her mouth, she decided to start on what she saw this morning.

"I was passing by the training grounds from the Hyuuga estate to the Hokage towers…" she trailed off slightly, not entirely sure how she should begin to describe the whole incident. She sneaked a quick glance at the boy sitting quietly beside her.

So far, so good. He was unmoving, focusing his attention on her words. Or so she thought. She quickly looked away again before the intensity of his eyes burned her spirit, slightly confused. _Why is he staring at me so intensely? Is there something on my face? _Shaking her head, she dropped the matter, deciding that the matter at hand was more important than some stray grain of rice stuck on her face.

"And…I saw you and Sakura-san together." Unable to continue without some form of reaction, Hinata turned towards Naruto. She was surprised by the sudden distance he had closed between their faces as he continued to stare at her intensely. To be more precise, at her pale, slight lavender-coloured eyes.

She widened her eyes in surprise and was about to ask him the reason behind his more-than-slightly weird behavior when he pressed his finger against her lips, indicating for her to keep quiet as he slowly leaned in, closing what was left of the distance between them.

"Your eyes…are incredibly mesmerizing," Naruto muttered under his trance-like state.

The sapphire-orbed boy never ceased to amaze her with his unexpected statements. Like that time, locked together in Sakura's basement, or this time, out in the open park. Hinata could only stare back at his own beautiful orbs before the boy scrambled back hastily, back to reality.

"Ah, sorry." Naruto murmured embarrassedly, rubbing the back of his head.

To his surprise, the Hyuuga heiress chuckled. And, more surprisingly, he found himself admiring the melodic ring of her soft laughter. He knew the reason the instant he heard her laughter. It wasn't the usual nervous chuckle or slight laugh to fit the appropriate situation. This was one of her rare laughs; one that sounded so angelic.

Before Naruto could ask the reason behind her laughter, the thunder clapped loudly, almost as if applauding the teeny bit of progress the two of them have made. The drizzle turned into a ferocious downpour, forcing the two victims in the park to take action.

"Hinata-chan, let's go!"

With a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, she accepted his warm, inviting hand as she leapt up gracefully from the bench.

:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD:DxD

Hinata frowned.

"Naruto-kun…"

He whipped around to face her. Noticing her facial features, he gave her the most innocent smile he could muster as he laughed nervously.

"Don't worry, I'll stock up on it later," Naruto beamed, "I promise," he added rather hastily upon seeing the frown deepen further on Hinata's face.

Sighing, Hinata turned towards the refrigerator again. The putrid smell of rotten milk wafted out in strong waves, causing Hinata to scrunch her nose up in disgust. It wasn't the first time she had been to his messy (now cleaner) apartment, nor was it the first time she had to help Naruto clear his refrigerator of its expired contents. But, she was still surprised at his standards of living. Sighing again, she rolled back her sleeves as she began to extract the source of the putrid smell.

Before she could get on with her task though, she was stopped by a concerned blonde.

"Hinata-chan, you should take a bath first."

Confused, she gazed up at him.

"I mean, you're soaking wet. You'd get a cold if you continue to stay in those clothes."

As understanding dawned on her face, Hinata almost fainted when she looked at her clothes. Her shirt was wet. Yes, she knew that. What she didn't know, or rather, had forgotten about, was the fact that her shirt was white. White, as in the opposite of black. White, as in the mixed white and lavender colour her eyes were. White, as in _see-through white._

Restraining a scream of embarrassment, Hinata stood up from the refrigerator stiffly as she quickly accepted Naruto's offer, dashing towards the bathroom. Locking the door, she breathed a sigh of relief. Wondering if Naruto noticed (She knew that Naruto can be frustratingly dense to the extent of _not _noticing what was _inside _her wet, white shirt that clung to her skin.), she thought back to his behavior when asking her to take a bath.

He was…normal. He wasn't blushing, stuttering, or stumbling over his words. His eyes weren't straying from her face towards her shirt. No, he had been facing her in the eye the whole while when talking to her. Feeling a bit more relieved, Hinata couldn't understand the small pang of disappointment that shot through her while she prepared to take a bath.

What hasn't crossed through her mind was what emotions were glazing over Naruto's sapphire orbs as he looked at her. She hasn't noticed as she was too busy worrying about her wet, white shirt. She didn't see the restraint in his eyes from looking towards her shirt. She didn't see how much effort he had to put in to keep from turning red. No, all these thoughts didn't cross her mind even once as she relaxed in the hot bath.

On the other hand, Naruto, who had been hastily left behind in the kitchen, cursed himself softly as he shook away all the perverse thoughts from his mind. Keeping his hands from Hinata took his all at times, especially when she had to look so cute while pondering in thought, and then he would had to get sucked into admiring her pale, lavender orbs. It had already been a close shave in the park, and an even closer shave as to what just occurred in the kitchen.

Shaking his head again, he decided not to think about it anymore, as he went to get some spare clothes for Hinata. As much as he wanted her, to hold her in his arms, he knew it was a dream beyond reality. Would Hinata even like a guy like him? She was the Hyuuga heiress, and he was the Kyuubi's container, for god's sake. Even if he was to put aside this major problem, there was the even more major problem of Hinata's father; Hiashi. Naruto would never get to live to hear the end of it if rumours got out that he was dating Hiashi's daughter.

Naruto held his face with a grimace as he walked up to the bathroom, wanting to inform Hinata of the spare clothes he will be placing on the bathroom mat, still lost in his thoughts. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the bathroom door sliding open, nor the soft gasp emitted from the Hyuuga heiress. So lost, that he didn't even notice the subject of his thoughts right in front of him, wrapped in nothing but a towel.

That is, until he accidentally knocked her over, falling down himself. Or maybe, he did it on purpose unconsciously. Either way, the two of them fell into a rather compromising position on the floor.

When he finally took in his surroundings, Naruto was horrified.

The Hyuuga heiress was beneath him. The object of his affections, covered in nothing but a small, white towel. He knew that if he didn't get up soon, he was going to lose what was left of the little self-control he had. But, try as he might, he couldn't find the strength to get himself up, save what little strength he was using to support his arms and legs so that he wouldn't crush Hinata underneath his weight.

_This is not good. _Naruto bit his lips in a last attempt at self-restraint. Glancing down at Hinata's clear orbs didn't help things either. Seeing her eyes clouded over with…was that want? Naruto blinked. Before he could continue analyzing further though, he was cut short in his thoughts by a soft pair of lips pressed against his.

Gentle, and not too demanding. It was over all too soon, almost as if it didn't even happen. Naruto blinked once more, and then glanced down at Hinata again. She was smiling, almost shying away from his eyes, but still staring back.

It was at that moment that Naruto realized; Hiashi could bash him up, hang him from the ceiling or even strangle him to death for all he cared. He had the only thing he had ever wanted, and he wasn't intending for her to slip out of his grasp anytime soon.

Before Hinata could catch on to what was happening, it was Naruto's turn to take the initiative to press his lips down against hers in another soft but firm kiss. She didn't resist, instead, putting her arms around his neck in an attempt to pull him closer, not that there was any distance left for them to close.

Naruto began to deepen the kiss, resting his tongue upon Hinata's lips, begging for entrance. Not one to resist Naruto's silent plead, Hinata opened her mouth more than willingly as their tongues half-wrestled.

Before long, the undeniable need for oxygen pulled the two of them apart, but before Naruto could delve back into his happiness again, he was stopped by a slender finger pressed against his warm lips.

He could only look on in confusion as Hinata pushed him up until he was sitting on the floor cross-legged, while she proceeded to kneel in the traditional way.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata began.

He tilted his head like a little puppy in response, quite unable to find his voice.

_He's cute even when he's confused… _Hinata thought happily, but quickly brought herself back to the matter at hand.

"There's something I need to clarify before we…continue," she coughed lightly at this point, covering up the blush that was appearing on her cheeks.

Naruto gave a slight nod as he gained back a little of his self-control, as much as he wanted to resume kissing _his _Hinata. If he quickly cleared whatever it was she wanted to clarify, he could happily get back to the task at hand; kissing.

"Do you…love me?"

Naruto blinked. He wasn't sure if he heard her correctly. Did she just ask him if he loved her?

"Of course I do. What are you talking about, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata shook her head quickly as she sighed in exasperation. The boy in front of her was kissing her with the intentions of loving her as his _best friend. _She had always thought that Naruto couldn't get any denser than he was, but he just did.

"I meant…the way you loved Sakura-san," Hinata winced as she heard her voice go up an unusual decibel. Not that Naruto noticed anyway, as he was way too deep in thought with a frown set on his face.

_The way I love Sakura-chan? Yeah, well, she is important to me, of course. We've been teammates since we were twelve. If she was sick, I'd be by her side in an instant…I'd do the same for Hinata-chan though. If she was sick… _Naruto scrunched his eyebrows together at the thought of Hinata lying on a bed, feeling too awful and uncomfortable to even stand. Immediately, his heart felt heavy with worry and was laced with sorrow until he realized that it was all imaginary, and he smiled again at the thought of a healthy Hinata.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully.

If the love Hinata had wanted from him is the type of love he showed towards Sakura, he honestly didn't know if he could give it to her. Every single emotion that flowed from his heart reacted differently to Hinata and Sakura, he realized.

"Then…I'll help you by asking a question, alright?" Hinata asked softly.

Naruto nodded slowly in response.

"If…if you knew that Sakura-san had already lost her first kiss to a guy, how would you feel?"

"I would beat that guy to a pulp, but if he's someone Sakura-chan really loves, then I'd just congratulate her. That guy is most probably Sasuke anyways," Naruto replied with an off-handed shrug. He didn't even need to think thoroughly about his answer, it was so simple.

"Then…what if it was me?"

Naruto's heart officially stopped beating for a moment.

"Pardon?" he had decided that 'what' wasn't severe enough to voice his confusion.

"What if it was me that lost my first kiss to a guy?" Hinata asked again, voice as soft as ever.

A heavy tension hung between them as the silence stretched longer. And then, something snapped. Naruto growled ferociously, almost as if a wild beast had taken possession of him…It was then that Hinata noticed with a horrified glance that the sapphire-orbed boy had alarmingly red flashing eyes.

"Naruto-kun, calm down!"

But even Hinata's words couldn't get through to him as he continued growling. Desperate, Hinata did the only thing she thought could work in her mind; she crawled over to Naruto, placing her lips on his.

Almost immediately, Naruto's angry aura died out as he placed one arm on her waist, the other around her neck, responding to her kiss hungrily.

He was about to explore Hinata's mouth again when she gently pushed him back. She didn't miss the soft whine coming from Naruto as she chuckled.

"You haven't answered my question yet, Naruto-kun."

The boy in question thought for a moment, before he shot back with a question of his own.

"Did you really lose your first kiss to a guy?"

Hinata stared at him for a moment, before realizing that Naruto had misunderstood the question. She was about to reply hastily when she stopped herself. If she used her words in the right way…she smiled inwardly.

"Yes."

She almost regretted it when she saw the look on Naruto's face. Almost.

"…who is it?" he asked dejectedly.

"You," she replied with a simple, straightforward smile.

Hinata couldn't help but laugh as Naruto half-glared, half-frowned at her. She knew the reason behind his upset behavior; he had thought that she meant she had given her first kiss to another guy. He hadn't in the least bit suspect the fact that she might twist the words around to tease him, seeing as she had _never _teased him before.

"Alright," Hinata was still laughing lightly, "Let's get back to the original question. What _if _I lost my first kiss to _another _guy?"

Naruto frowned even more, if possible.

"I'd most probably castrate him."

Hinata beamed. As far as she was concerned, this was enough revelation of his feelings for her to know that he really did love her. She was about to confess her own feelings when she was beaten by Naruto with a question of his own.

"Does wanting to hold you, hug you, protect you from all dangers, castrating any guy who throws you a suggestive glance, telling you of all my troubles and kissing you add up to the love you want from me?"

Albeit surprised, Hinata nodded.

"If I said 'I love you', can I hold your hand in public, call you my girlfriend, and kiss you?" Naruto added with a whine.

Hinata nodded again, a small smile forming at the corner of her lips. The next moment, she was tackled into a hug before she knew it.

"I love you!"

Hinata was about to reply, but she was cut short by Naruto again. He broke their hug as he leaned back to look at her in the eyes.

"But…do you love me?"

It was the pale, lavender orbed girl's turn to blink. And then, she had to resist from laughing too loudly. If only Naruto knew how ironic that sounded to her. She, who had been crushing on him for years. She, who had tried to confess to him so many countless times. She, who had finally been given the chance to confess properly.

"Yes. Yes I do, silly. I've loved you since the academy days."

Naruto's surprised but happy look didn't go unnoticed by Hinata.

"You've loved me for so long…?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you confess?"

And, the slight falter in Hinata's smile didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"I was too shy. Besides, you were always confessing your love for Sakura-san in front of everyone. How could I ever confess? And, this morning…"

Naruto frowned as he watched Hinata's smile completely disappear from her face. He just found out that he didn't like it very much when she felt upset.

"I saw you and Sakura-san together at the training grounds…"

Naruto could only raise a quizzical eyebrow in reply. As much as he hated making Hinata go on, he had to find out the source of her unhappiness. And, as we all know Naruto, he didn't get what Hinata had meant by the simple but easily misleading situation she had seen Naruto and Sakura in.

"The both of you were standing very close together…Almost like…hugging, or kissing…"

Resisting the temptation to kiss Hinata before he explained the situation, Naruto grinned. It was incredible how cute the Hyuuga heiress could get when she got _jealous. _Yes, surprisingly, Naruto knows what jealousy is.

Titling her head with his hand, Naruto leaned in, closing the small distance between them so that their noses were brushing against each other.

"I was asking her what type of flowers you liked."

Hinata's pale orbs widened in surprise. She hasn't been expecting that answer.

"And apparently, you mistook the situation from your point of view."

If that was true, then…

"My birthday?"

Naruto nodded as he closed what was left of the tiny gap between them, claiming Hinata's lips again.

"It's a month early," Naruto continued as soon as they broke away for oxygen, "But I wanted to get your presents earlier. Lavender would go pretty nicely with the present I'll be giving you."

A faint blush appeared on Hinata's cheeks.

"Thank you."

Giving a big grin in reply, Naruto wasted no time in swooping down and pressing his lips in an urgent need against Hinata's lips again. Hinata was about to wrap her arms around his neck once more when she remembered something. However, it was only after a few kisses that she was able to push him away gently.

"Um…" Hinata stumbled, unable to continue with that look (Was that a pout?) on Naruto's face.

"Naru-kun…"

Naruto broke into a smile as soon as he heard the new nickname he had just gained.

"Yeahs?"

"I'm…still in a towel."

It was a few moments before Naruto spoke up. Or rather, yelled.

"AH! Sorry!" he stood up quickly, turning so that his back faced Hinata. He was glad that he wasn't facing her too, for his face was turning into an interesting shade of red.

As Hinata picked up the spare clothes that had been forgotten in the middle of their _accident, _she chuckled softly, entering the bathroom to change.

And, as soon as Naruto confirmed that Hinata was safely in the bathroom, he let out a sigh of relief. That is, before he noticed that the bathroom door _wasn't _locked. He gulped, quickly turning red again.

_No. Control yourself! _Naruto closed his eyes tightly as he clenched his fists. Moments passed in silence…And then, he noticed something.

_Hina-chan isn't one to be careless enough to forget to lock the door…_

With a slight half-grin, Naruto gave in to his temptations as he slid open the bathroom door.

_And the rest, as they say, is history._

**OWARI**

A/N: First off, the title roughly translates to 'Inside the Rain', or 'Under the Rain' (Sounds better.). Next, this fic is also dedicated to Hinata, whose birthday falls on December 27. Long live NaruHina! R&R please. :D


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